Thursday, April 25, 2013

A Difference of Opinion

I am knee deep on my first round of edits for This Feels Like Home. In the long run I don't mind edits because the end result will be a better book, but this is my first time through working with a new editor, and that makes things, shall we say?, interesting. In my time with TWRP this is the third editor I've worked with, and each one has created something of a new learning curve as I get a feel for their preferences and style.

My current editor doesn't like too many pronouns.

My first editor did not like the conjunction 'and' as she said many times two particular actions can't always be happening at the same time. She closed the door and sat down. Which makes sense. So with her, I used a lot of 'then' structures. She closed the door, then sat down.

My newest editor is the opposite. She does not like the 'then' structure, but prefers the 'and' formation. (Or the 'take your pick of another conjunction' formation: and then, but, so, :, two separate sentences.) Most of the comments on the mss state 'Use a conjunction'. At this point, (I'm about halfway through) if I hit a page when I don't see that phrase, I am literally jumping for joy.

She's also removed some wordiness and taken out some of the description of action type lines. She said it's nice to lend authenticity, but to stick with things that really show character. Whenever she deletes something, she leaves a comment explaining why. Some phrasing simply needs to be tightened or rewritten. In these spots she's offered suggestions, but has ultimately left it to me to make the decision. She also told me if I ever disagree with something she's changed or deleted, to add a comment (Edits should always be done with the 'track changes' feature on.) explaining why I want it to remain. There are a few changes/deletions that I do disagree with and will let her know, but I am picking and choosing those that are most important to me.

Although the edits seem to be taking a long time, just by virtue of the fact that I have little time each day to work on them, I know in the end I will have a story that's the best it can be. From round one we'll continue to round two and so on, each time tweaking a little something more, until we get to that final stage of approving the galley. Which is always exciting.

In other news I am still waiting on a cover and release date for The Vampire and the Vixen. When I asked my editor about it a couple of weeks ago, she said the cover was coming 'momentarily'. Apparently our definitions may be crossed on that term. But I'm trying to be patient. Working on Home has been a nice distraction.

3 comments:

Interesting feedback on 'and' vs 'then. I am never sure which is better to use. 'Then' implies 1, 2 action.' And' implies simultaneously, yet it is understandable, and like dialogue tags, may (I suspect) be glossed over by the reader. To not use either could make for a host of short choppy sentences., which impacts the flow ad style of the read.

It's interesting that even within the same publishing house, editors have their own preferences. I would have thought there would be some kind of house 'style' they'd all have to adhere to. It seems to make it more confusing for the authors, but at the same time it proves the point that many of the so-called 'rules' can't be considered as rules at all. They are simply editorial preferences, and vary from editor to editor.